I like food, but man...not sure how anything can be worth that much. That's a hard one to stomach/swallow, pun intended.
OK. I'm taking my 17 year old daughter to Vegas in a couple weeks. I need to know what roller coasters, shows, attractions I need to hit during the day with her and what good places to eat (she's a big Gordon Ramsey fan so gotta hit at least one of his joints)
Take her to any of the Cirque Du Soleil shows. Went to their Beatles themed one and enjoyed that but dont know if they have that still. The fashion mall on the strip is a good time killer especially for a 17year old girl.
I can tell you to keep an eye on her for sure. All the Cirque shows are worth a look except for Zumanity as it's very adult oriented. I'd pass on Ramsey Burgr, I was highly disappointed in variety and quality.
You'd think it's mostly for the 21 and up crowd but you'd be surprised. For shows...Beatles love just revamped their show at the Mirage. Honestly most Cirque shows are great but they are all pretty similar from an acrobatic standpoint so at least with Love you have the music aspect. It's good. Go see it. I'd avoid a lot of the celebrity chef places to eat honestly but there are some really great places anywhere you go since it's so competitive. For an event dinner I'd recommend sitting outside on the patio at Lavo (kinda Italian American) at the Palazzo. It's right across the street from Treasure Island so you get front row seats to the pirate show at night. They take reservations too. Bellagio fountains, mirage volcano, and the fake Eiffel Tower are cool for first timers. For roller coasters def plan on spending an afternoon at the stratosphere. They have like 4 roller coasters on top of the hotel and they are all pretty cool. Go the Friedmont street. They have a cool zip line that goes over the strip at night. Really cool. -don't bother seeing the Pawn Stars (show) pawn shop even if you like that show. It's just a pawn shop/gift shop. Not worth it. -if you haven't picked a hotel yet I recommend Mandalay Bay. Wave pool with beach. Lazy river etc. it's a nice pool for more family atmosphere. Places like MGM will pretty much be a frat pool party. Let me know if u need any other recommendations.
Ramsey has a pub and grill type place in Caesar's Palace if I recall correctly and BGR in Planet Hollywood. Holsteins in Cosmo is a great burger place. Any of the Cirque shows should be fine outside of the obviously adult themed ones (Zumanity is the only one I can recall now that you should avoid). Your daughter being 17, in my opinion, you can still walk/ride to the strip attractions in the early evenings (Bellagio fountains, TI volcano, Eiffel, etc.) I see people walk around with young children or babies. Now, Vegas is not a place for young children, but I think if you stay to touristy stuff you can avoid general public intoxication. There is always the person who was too excited to be in Vegas and is plastered at 2pm. But again, not like your child is 4 years old. Go, enjoy the sights, food, etc. During the day, Vegas is relatively tame.
I like Gordon Ramsey Steak in Paris. And I've gone to a handful of the higher-rated steak restaurants out there
Gordon Ramsey Steak is actually consistently in the top 5 steak houses in Vegas, so its not just "another celebrity" steak house. I've eaten there and can confirm that it is excellent. The Beef Wellington is as good as advertised, and they often have Master Chef or Hell's Kitchen inspired menus. His Beef Wellington got him 3 Michelin stars for a reason, so if VooDooPope's daughter is a fan, that would be a cool thing to go get. By the way, O at Bellagio (one of the Cirque shows) is still the best one. Take her to that. Depending on how "mature" a 17 year old she is: Absinthe at Caesar's is absolutely hilarious and amazing. It gets pretty risque and crude in the humor with some bad language too, but a 17 year old should be able to handle it. The question is if she'd be uncomfortable with Dad in that show. Parent discretion advised.
thanks for all the input. Will def be getting the beef wellington at Ramsey's Steak House. I'm shocked at how expensive tickets are to the Cirque shows. I don't remember them being that expensive but then again that was probably 18 years ago last time I was there.
They are well worth it. I would take your daughter to Love, you can get a much cheaper ticket than O, plus the music is more contemporary. I got front row for $99 on some special promo. Absolutely worth it.
Vie Sauvage is an awesome dress shop in there that I highly recommend. I mean, you won't want to see your daughter in most of the dresses, as they are usually about showing some skin, but she would probably enjoy it there. Zumanity was hilarious, and I don't think it would be an issue. There are plenty of sexual jokes, but personally I wouldn't see an issue. At most you'll just feel embarrassed if they use you in the show. If you can't handle the show with your daughter, I don't see how you could handle walking down the strip or downtown where you will see basically naked people. Definitely avoid Baz if it is still playing (it was at the Palazzo and my wife and I both hated it). Also felt the High Roller wasn't worth it.
Pulled the trigger on tickets to O. was a toss up between Love and O and found better seats to O for the night we wanted to go. Even thought I've been dieting hard since the beginning of May I plan on blowing it out once at one of the buffets. Which one is considered the best in town now days? Is it the Bacchanal at Ceasars as rated on yelp?
Bachhanal is the biggest, but I like the Cosmopolitan buffet as well as the Aria. Lines are smaller for those and they are cheaper. Great quality and selection.